Soundwave
Soundwave is (or rather, was) Megatron's most reliable troops back in the day. For the longest time, Soundwave had positioned himself comfortably and irreplaceably in Megatron's upper command structure. During the battle for Earth's future, Soundwave was trapped in the Shadow Zone by the Autobots' human friends. It took him many, many years to finally escape the Shadow Zone, returning to the present realm in 2185. Learning that his Master had joined the Autobots and that Starscream was assembling a new team of Decepticons, Soundwave chose to strike out on his own, following in iTaB's footsteps. As a Communications Officer, Soundwave hears and sees all, much to the annoyance of Starscream. History Decepticonz Era Soundwave was one of many Decepticons to travel to Earth with Megatron. When Megatron planned to use Dark Energon to raise an army of undead Cybertronians to conquer Earth, Soundwave went to a telescope array in Texas to use it to aim the Space Bridge at Cybertron. Despite the attempts of the Autobots' human allies, Soundwave was able to accomplish his mission. Later, with Megatron presumed dead following the destruction of the Space Bridge, Soundwave bore witness to the duel between the Autobots Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Skyquake. In the midst of the duel, Soundwave detected a signal from the site of their destroyed Space Bridge, believing it to be Megatron. While Starscream went to investigate, Soundwave sent Laserbeak to ensure Starscream did his job. Though Skyquake was killed, Soundwave and Laserbeak made sure Starscream returned the barely-alive Megatron to the Nemesis. After Megatron was brought back online, Soundwave continued to serve as his Communications Officer. When the appearance of Unicron forced a temporary alliance between Megatron and the Autobots, Soundwave was in charge of monitoring his signal. When Airachnid suggested abandoning Megatron on the possibility of Earth being lost, Soundwave took charge and confronted her. The two fought fiercely, but Soundwave ultimately won. When Optimus lost his memories and was convinced as "Orion Pax" that he was a Decepticon, Soundwave was tasked with making sure he did not come across Decepticon information while decoding the Iacon Database. Eventually, Orion broke through his encryptions and realized who Optimus Prime was. Later, when the Nemesis was brought to life via Dark Energon, Soundwave attempted to hack the systems and gain control, only to be zapped into stasis. Later, Soundwave was tasked with retrieving the third Iacon relic, which led him into an encounter with the Autobots Wheeljack and Ratchet. Despite the Autobots' best efforts, Soundwave was successful in acquiring the Relic. Soundwave later used Laserbeak to locate Smokescreen and successfully captured him. When the Autobots and Decepticons fought on Cybertron for the control of the Omega Lock, Soundwave bore witness to its activation and subsequent destruction. He was later present when the Decepticons attacked and destroyed the Autobots' base. Later, Soundwave deployed Laserbeak to find the humans and Autobots who escaped the base's destruction. He was also the first to discover the Autobots' plan to thin out their forces before attacking Darkmount. Soundwave later assisted Shockwave in retrieving a Predacon bone in Texas. Soundwave was later captured by the Autobots after aiding a mission to acquire components to rebuild the Omega Lock. When the Autobots' attempts to interrogate him failed and upon Ratchet's suggestion to open him up, Soundwave merely deleted all his data directly from their drives. In a stunning act, he broke his vow of silence to tell them, "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior" before shutting himself down. Later, Laserbeak located the new base and freed Soundwave, who proceeded to take out Agent Fowler, Bulkhead and Smokescreen before capturing Ratchet. When the Autobots launched a last-ditch assault on the Nemesis to save Earth, Soundwave was stationed on the bridge. When the Wreckers arrived, Soundwave simply used a Ground Bridge to transport them elsewhere on the ship. When Ultra Magnus reported this, Jack had a plan to get rid of Soundwave using his "relocation trick" against him. Jack arrived on the bridge of the warship along with Miko (doning the Apex Armor). When Soundwave attempted to bridge her elsewhere, Raf opened a second Ground Bridge behind him. The Decepticon was caught within the two portals feeding off each other. When he subsequently attempted to attack the two humans, he phased right through them, realizing that they had trapped him in the Shadowzone. Transformers Revolution Having been trapped in the Shadowzone, Soundwave was still remembered by new generations of the Decepticon Army, and his appearance was taken on by a replacement called Compustrike. Transformers Frontier Soundwave's role in the war as Megatron's top lieutenant, and his fearsome reputation as a tactical genius, were well documented on Cybertron, as was his entrapment in the Shadowzone during his final battle aboard the Nemesis. After wandering aimlessly for many years, Soundwave finally got his chance to escape the Shadowzone after Fixit caused an accident to the GroundBridge, creating a portal to the Shadowzone. Soundwave flew through the rift and, along with Laserbeak, overwhelmed Goldbug's team, throwing the yellow Autobot into the Shadowzone and knocking out Grimlock and Holtracer with his tentacles. That job done, Soundwave set to work constructing a radio array, hoping to contact Megatron and spark a mass Decepticon exodus to Earth. He was hampered by the antics of Fixit, Jack and Cade, who managed to distract him long enough for Grimlock and Holtracer to come to their senses. The two Autobots renewed their attack on the Decepticon, prompting Soundwave to portal them away with Laserbeak. While the Autobots and humans regrouped and conferred with Goldbug, Soundwave finished constructing his device. As he chased Jack into a crane with his tentacles, Cade stole the last component. Soundwave fired a barrage of SpaceBridges at the human, until they overlapped and opened another Shadowzone portal, allowing Goldbug to return and fight the Decepticon. However, their attempt to drive him back into the Shadowzone failed when Soundwave blasted their GroundBridge controls. Outgunned when Grimlock and Holtracer returned, Soundwave liberated Laserbeak from Autobot custody and escaped. Soundwave later took control of a government satellite program, which he used to monitor Earth-based communications. In the process he discovered that Megatron had changed sides and also discovered that Starscream was assembling his own army. Having detected the disturbance, Agent arrived to cut off the Decepticon's connection to the satellites. However, Soundwave overpowered the Guardian and installed a virus into the program before flying away. At some point, Soundwave acquired details regarding the current status of Pyrotron and the other Decepticons under his command. Soundwave later monitored a squirmish between iTaB and members of Goldbug's team. When iTaB was rendered at the mercy of the Autobots, Soundwave used his use of Ground Bridges to send the Autobots away. iTaB was surprised to see the Decepticon Communications Officer, having believed Soundwave to be stuck in the Shadowzone. Personality Soundwave's most defining characteristic, aside from his apparent lack of what most would consider an actual face, was his total, and unsettling silence; he could speak but chose not to; a testament to his evident skill with keeping secrets. His equally defining characteristic was his unquestionable loyalty and devotion to Megatron (before his defection), who in turn trusted Soundwave fully and completely, possibly more so than any of his other minions and showing him considerable favor. His loyalty drove Soundwave to maintain a constant vigilance on the Nemesis for any potential conspiracies against his master and alert him of the would-be traitors. Megatron even asked Soundwave to remind him of Airachnid's trustworthiness (which Soundwave willingly obliged by replaying a recording of Airachnid declaring her belief in the need to consider a future without Megatron). Soundwave himself apparently did not trust any of his fellow Decepticons, particularly Starscream and Airachnid, keeping a constant watch on the former (who continuously plotted to take over leadership of the Decepticons) and later enlightening Megatron that Airachnid was not to be trusted. Soundwave diligently followed his orders without question or hesitation, and often succeeded in all his efforts, rewarding him with praise and further trust and favor from Megatron. Powers and Abilities Despite his thin and angular build, Soundwave proved to be a deceptively dangerous warrior, skilled in unarmed combat, as well as utilizing his tendrils to overcome his foes. This comes as little shock as he was once a gladiator of Kaon. Soundwave was a gladiator in the arenas of Kaon and was the sole warrior who came closest to defeating Megatron in battle. He uses his slim arms as blades and to block attacks, as he did against Airachnid and Wheeljack. Soundwave can extend two tendrils from his sides, using them to fight or to hack computer terminals or simply picking things up. They are shown to be very strong as they are capable of throwing around Autobots such as Bulkhead and Grimlock. The tendrils are capable of shooting red lasers, generating electricity to zap opponents and the claws at the end can rotate and be used as drills, as he did to excavate an Iacon relic. Soundwave is a walking database. He stores vast amounts of data in his hard drives. He is capable of hacking computers, intercepting transmissions and communications, and monitoring communications on a planet-wide scale, all of which can be displayed on his visor. Most commonly known, on Soundwave's chest rests Laserbeak, a Mini-Con which can be deployed for aerial battle or to stalk. Laserbeak also contains a full backup of Soundwave's information, so if Soundwave's information gets erased, he can reboot it all back via Laserbeak. His signature ability is opening GroundBridges anywhere at any given moment, an ability dubbed by Ultra Magnus as his "Relocation Trick." Unfortunately, this trick was ultimately used against him, leaving Soundwave trapped in the Shadowzone until the year 2185. Notes and Trivia *When Soundwave returns, he is unaware of Megatron's defection to the Autobots, as he attempts to contact Megatron and spark a Decepticon invasion of Earth. *After many years in the Shadowzone, Soundwave seems to be rusty at his signature relocation trick.